Risa's Loyalty
by TROLLintheDUNGEONN
Summary: Otani's POV. Otani has been going to college, and barely sees Risa anymore. When they finally do get a date to spend together, Otani finds himself wondering just what Risa has been doing while he was away.
1. The Date

It's not like I'd never thought about my height. What am I saying, it's all I think about? I've been done growing for a LOOOONG time, and I have two amazons after my heart (though only one of them has it...don't tell Koizumi I said that, though.)

But now that high school's over and university has started, I get to see Koizumi less and less. I think about her a lot, and I call her when I can, but it's not the same as when we were in high school and saw each other nearly every day. I can tell she's hurting from it, too. I've been planning to make a date with her for awhile, but I never can seem to find the time.

But today, classes ended early. So I guess I'll go see her now...

She's working at the same resteraunt across the street from the university prep class I took last year. As I start walking over there, I started to think about what I would even say. We hadn't seen each other in a long time...

So I stop into a music shop on the way and buy the latest Omibozu CD. There, that should do it.

I could only imagine what Nobu and Nakao would say if they knew I was resorting to Omibozu, but Koizumi is so simple. Why not use what I know is going to work?

But when I got to the resteraunt, I walked in and asked for Risa. The old bat lady told me she wasn't working. I sighed and asked if she was working anytime today.

"She clocked out about an hour ago," she said impatiently. "Now, if you're not going to buy anything, please step aside."

I rolled my eyes and left, wondering where to look first. Then something hit me. Doi. I should just call her. I flipped open my phone and scrolled through my contacts until I found her, then pressed talk. It rang a couple times, then went to voicemail. A couple seconds later, I got a message from her. She was in class.

_Man..._

The one time I had time to spend with her, she was doing something. I messaged back asking when she'd be out. A minute later I got a reply.

_"About twenty minutes. Is there something wrong?"_

I told her no, but I would be waiting for her outside her school. It was about a fifteen minute walk over there, and then I sat on a bench to wait. There were students coming and going, not really paying me any attention. All of them were really well dressed, and I was wondering why when I remembered that it was a technical school for fashion related careers. Doi.

When Risa finally came out, I was surprised. She was in a mini skirt and some well fitting top, and even had makeup on. I stared for a minute, then burst out laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Koizumi demanded, her face twisting into an angry scowl.

"You look like such a girl! It's unlike you!"

"Well is that something to say to your girlfriend?" She asked. The ugly fishface made an appearance. I stopped laughing and smiled at her.

"Do you have some time? I don't have any more classes today."

"Me neither. What were you thinking?"

"Well, I stopped by a music store and got the latest Umibozu CD."

"There's a new one! No way!"

"It was released last month..."

There was silence after that. She looked very surprised.

"I really have been busy with school...I didn't even know that Umibozu had a new CD out! Jeez...That's unlike me, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. But come on, let's get some icecream and then we can go to your place and listen to this."

"Okay!"

When we got back to Koizumi's place, I sat on her bed and licked my cone. None of the furniture had changed, but there were sketches and clothes everywhere. She obviously was stressing over school, and clothes, a lot more. She used to keep her room spotless. I did notice a new picture on her desk. It was of her and that Kohori kid in their work uniforms.

"Why've you got a picture of him?" I asked, using my best attempt at her fish face.

"Huh? Oh, we took that at work."

"I can see that."

"What, you're not _jealous_, are you?" She asked, giving me her pretend girly look. I rolled my eyes.

"What have I got to be jealous of?"

"Why, you're lovely girlfriend, of course!"

-silence-

"What lovely girlfriend?"

"OTANI!"

That last remark earned me a sock to the mouth, which I probably deserved, and though I dropped the thing about the picture, I kept looking over at it. Truth is, even though Koizumi and I made up, I never got over seeing that shrimp kiss her that one night. And now she has a picture of him in her bedroom? This isn't alright.

Koizumi put the CD in the player, and we laid side-by-side on her bed listening for awhile. After a couple tracks, I took her hand. A couple more, I propped myself up on my elbow and leaned over to kiss her. But aside from that, nothing really happened. Later that evening, I left the CD at her house as a gift and hopped on my bike. It was a long ways to my place.

I couldn't stop thinking about her. Well, it was differnet than I normally did. I didn't see her most of the time, and now she has pictures of some kid who told me to my face that he liked her? Man, anything could happen between them and I'd be none the wiser.

I had to talk to somebody, but it was much to late to call. I'd call Nakao in the morning. If anything went down between Risa and Kohori, she would tell Nobu. And Nobu would tell Nakao.


	2. The Search

_*ring ring*_

_*ring ring*_

_*ring ring*_

The phone rang for a long time before going to the annoying voicemail of Nakao and Nobu saying that my call would be returned ASAP. I flipped my phone closed and stared at the wall. I was still living at home for the time-being, and hadn't really redecorated since high school. There was still some basketball trophies, team and group photos from school, and, of course, pictures of him and Koizumi at various Umibozu concerts.

But that just reminded me of the time when I'd caught her and Kohori walking home from the secret concert they'd snuck off to, and I was filled with anger once again. Why couldn't that shrimp just find his own girlfriend? Ugh!

Today was Sunday, so that meant the both of us would be off of classes. I wondered if she was working, and decided to go down to the resteraunt to check it out for himself. I normally would have called her, but I felt as though talking to her over the phone would just tighten the knot in my stomach even further.

After calling over my shoulder to tell my mother where I was off too, I jumped on my bike and rode to the train station. It was nearly 11:30 a.m when I finally made it to the resteraunt. I went inside by myself and went to the front desk.

"Your girlfriend's not working today," the grumpy lady behind the desk said before I even managed to ask. Strangely, I was relieved rather than disappointed. Not because I didn't want to see her, but because...well...that meant she wasn't here with Ko...

"Is that Kohori kid working?"

"No, he isn't. They both took today off," she said. "Now, if you're not going to buy anything, please step aside. We're very busy today."

They both took the day off? Huh...that was weird. Once I was outside I decided to get over myself and call her. She picked up, but no hello. Man, I got her butt...while I was deciding whether to shout until she heard me or hang up and call again, I heard her talking.

"You're right, this cd really is awesome!"

"Isn't it? Otani gave it to me yesterday!"

"Well it's really good. Hang on, I'm gonna ask my mom if there's anything to eat...are you hungry?"

I flipped the phone shut before I heard anymore. That was definitely Kohori's voice...they were at his house?

There was no way to explain it this time. She was at HIS HOUSE in HIS ROOM listening to the cd that I had bought for her THE DAY BEFORE. That was the final straw.

I wasn't exactly sure where the kid lived, but I found the nearest phonebooth and flipped through the phonebook until I found the address before starting off on my bike again.

It was still only about 12:15 when I pulled up in front of the correct house and marched up to the front door. I knocked three times before crossing my arms. A minute later a kind-faced woman answered the door.

"Why, hello there! Can I help you?"

"Is Risa there?" I asked, my attitude shifting from angry to polite at the site of Kohori's mother.

"Yes, she's right upstairs with Kazuki-kun!"

"Thank you," I said quickly before rushing upstairs. I didn't even knock before opening the door...


	3. The Fight

"Risa!" Her name was out of my mouth before I'd completely taken in the scene I'd just barged in on. Kohori and Risa were lying side by side on his bed, munching on some sort of food. That didn't matter right now. I was mad.

"Otani!" Risa shouted, surprised. She sat up, knocking the plate of whatever onto the floor. Kohori looked absolutely shocked. And he had every right to, because in about two seconds I was across the room and on top of him, grabbing him by the shirt, raising my fist, making hard contact.

"Stay away from Koizumi! She's not your girlfriend, _she's mine!"_

"Wha-Koizumi-cha-ah!" Kohori had a nice red mark on the side of his faced and was utterly confused. That's when I felt the hand close on my arm and yank.

"OTANI!" Risa pulled me straight off of Kohori and I landed roughly on the floor. "_WHAT_ DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

I blinked and stared for a moment before my anger returned.

"_Me?_ What do YOU think you're doing, alone with another boy in his room, listening to the cd _I_ bought you?"

"Otani, what does that matter? Don't you _trust_ me at all?" She was thoroughly pissed, I could tell. And the noise had attracted the attention of Kohori's mother.

"Kazuki, is everything alright?" She called up the staircase. Kohori seemed to have made sense of everything and shouted down to her.

"Yes, mother, sorry for the noise." He closed the door and turned back, the red mark on her face turning slowly to purple.

"Otani. You just came into my room and interrupted a perfectly lovely day that me and Risa were having to punch me in the face. You'd better have a good reason."

"You can't just have lovely days with other guys' girlfriends in your room. Especially," I said, looking straight at Risa now, "when the guy is unaware."

Risa turned red, and I turned to go. "You can stay here if you want, Koizumi. But don't expect me to be waiting for you when you're done with your other boyfriend."

I went straight downstairs and outside. As I closed the front door, I could have sworn I heard her yell something, but I didn't pause. I got back on my bike and started riding back towards the train station.

(sorry this chapter was sort of short, I'm inspiration-low. If you have any ideas feel free to mention them in your reviews.)


	4. The Realization

(Mkay here's a little fix since last time was so short)

*Risa's POV*

Man, what is Otani's problem? I mean, yeah I didn't tell him I was going over to Kohori-kun's today, but Otani is NOT my babysitter. He's my boyfriend. And not a very trusting one at that.

Kohori's cheek was swelling up when I left, but he'd managed to convince his mother that he had fallen and hit it on his desk or whatever. The story was stupid. It sounded more like something I would do, but she bought it so whatever.

I was on my bike on my way to the train station. The whole thing had gone down about an hour ago so I felt secure I wouldn't run into Otani. I wasn't sure what I would do or say when it came time to confront the issue, but I needed time to think.

But no solution was coming to mind. I needed Nobu.

I hurried home as quickly as I could, and once I was safely in my room, whipped out my cell phone and dialed her number. I hadn't seen her in person since last summer, and with this term coming to a close, I had started to anticipate the next group outing.

Nobu picked up on the second ring.

"Risa-chan!" She said excitedly. I could tell she was excited to see me as well. Too bad that wasn't what I was calling about.

"Hey Nobu," I said, trying to sound as normal as I could. Of course it didn't work.

"What's wrong? Is it Otani?"

Right on the nose.

"Well…" I began to relate to her everything that had happened in the past month. I'd been missing Otani, and Kohori was good company. I didn't have feelings for him, but he was a good friend and I needed someone to talk to.

Then the date with Otani came, and I got my fix. But I still felt the need to hang out with Kohori, so I knew I was actually beginning to see him as a friend independent of what I felt for Otani. So when he invited me over to his house on our day off I saw no problem with it, especially seeing as I knew how psyched he'd be for the new Omibozu CD.

I wasn't expecting for Otani to burst in like that…I was so angry…and poor Kohori, too…

"Risa…" Nobu said in her reproachful tone. I sighed as I realized what I was about to hear. "I know you don't want to hear this, but Otani is right. You have been together for such a long time, now..you shouldn't be going off to be in other boys' rooms alone. Especially behind his back."

"But we're just friends, Nobu. Otani knows that."

"Does he? I seem to remember the slight issue of Kohori kissing you last time something like this happened…."

I knew she was right. But I didn't want to have to say it.

"Fine. But what am I supposed to do?"

"I think you need to leave Otani alone for awhile. You two probably just need some space…"

"I guess…thanks, Nobu.."

"Anytime, Risa-chan! See you soon!"

The line went dead, and I flipped my phone closed. Space? Me and Otani have had plenty of that…that was probably the issue in the first place. I heaved a dramatic sigh and collapsed backwards onto my bed. I was out instantly.

Man, that girl. There was just no end to the grief she gave me…

So why am I still with her? All she does is cause me worry, stress, jealousy…

Why should I have to deal with that?

But why would I choose not to, is probably the more appropriate question. I've been through this stuff with her before, and it's never stopped me before. This specific incident wasn't any worse.

Then again, I never see her anymore. Between school and work, we never have any time for each other. This might just be the tip of the iceberg, and it's only freshman year…I don't know if I can handle it anymore.

This might be it, then. It might be time to end things with Risa Koizumi.


	5. The Phone Call That Changed Everything

(This is the last "official" chapter, there will be one more to explain the aftermath I think. This one was really fun to write)

Days passed without contact. I didn't call her, she didn't call me, and we didn't go to each other's houses. I thought about her a lot, but less frequently as the days went on. I knew it was time to start moving on so that when the actual break up hit I wouldn't be too messed up.

I spent the time working hard in class, which had started again, working hard to see my name on the top 50 bulletin board after midterms.

But, as it did at any time in my life, the time of peace ended very quickly.

I was leaving school for the day when my phone started ringing. It was the generic phone ring rather than an Omibozu ringtone, so I knew it wasn't Koizumi. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked. Nakao.

"What's up?" I asked as I sat down on a bench.

"ATSUSHI OTANI WHAT DID YOU DO TO RISA?"

Whoa. That most definitely was not Nakao.

"Nobu, why didn't you call me from your phone?" I asked disinterestedly.

"Because Risa has been calling and texting nonstop for the past two weeks! Why haven't you called her yet?"

"I haven't called her because I don't know how to do it yet," I said with a sigh. They would find out eventually, I figured.

"Do what?" Nobu asked, suddenly a lot calmer.

"Break up with her of course."

"WHAT?BREAKUPWITHRISA?BUTSHE''''LLKILLYOUIFYOUHURTHERWHAT''RESOPERFECTTOGETHERANDIKNOWYO-"

I was holding the phone at arm's length and attracting quite a few looks from nervous by-passers when the shrieking stopped and I heard Nakao telling Nobu to calm down.

"Otani, why are you breaking up with Koizumi-chan?"

"We never see each other, and it's already just causing more stress than what it's worth to keep her around. I never know what she's doing, we don't have time to go on dates more than like once a month maybe if we're lucky, and she doesn't seem to get that I didn't want her to be alone with Kohori. I mean, after we already had such a big thing about him back in high school, she just skips off to his room for an afternoon…"

"Otani, you don't want to break up with Koizumi."

"What are you talking about? Of course I do."

"No, you don't. You're just jealous of Kohori and worried that she'll leave you. So you think it's reasonable to hurt her before she hurts you and tell yourself that you don't care. But, Otani, if you do this now and realize that you still love her later, she may very well be taken again. And we're in college now. If she gets taken, it might be for good."

My heart dropped. Koizumi with another guy, marrying him in a chapel? Blushing at him, making her ugly fish face at him, kissing him..?

"Maybe you're right," I admitted. "But there's not really any other choice. There's not a way to fix this."

There wasn't a reply. All I heard was Nobu's voice in the background, and I realized she was on the phone with Koizumi.

"It'll be okay, Risa-chan. No, I don't know where he is right now. I'm sure he'll call soon…I'm sorry, do you want me to come home tomorrow….? Are you sure….? Okay, I-Risa, it's okay, don't cry like that…"

Man, did I feel like the worst.

"Nakao, I gotta go…but do you happen to know where Koiz-where Risa is right now?"

I could almost hear his smug face when he informed me that she'd of course be at her house. I hung up the phone, grabbed my bike and headed off for the train station.

It was a street-lamp illuminated night by the time I pulled up to her house. All of the lights were off expect for what I knew to be her dining room, and her bedroom. Even if they were probably discussing how awful I was, I was glad that her family was already awake, because knowing Koizumi, she'd probably make this very loud…

I knocked on the door, and the muffled voices from inside suddenly stopped. A sort of deep voice said something and then there were footsteps. The door swung open and I was face to face with Risa's brother.

"Oh, uh…hey Takuto….kun?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, glaring at me. I gulped. This kid had probably hit puberty recently, and he'd already been significantly taller than me.

"I'm here to see your sister, of course."

"And do what, start this crap all over again?" He asked, nodding up at the ceiling. You could very clearly hear Risa's sobs echoing around up there. I had the sudden urge to shrink back into the shadows and disappear forever.

"No….I really need to talk to her. Can I go upstairs?"

I could tell he was about to say no when Risa's mother appeared over his left shoulder.

"It's perfectly okay, why don't you go on up and I'll bring you some snacks in a little bit…"

"Oh, that's alright but thank you," I said, squeezing past Takuto and heading upstairs.

Once I got outside her room, the sobs were obnoxiously loud. Nothing she did was exactly lady-like, was it? Man.

I knocked twice and heard a watery, "Who is it?" come from inside. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"It's me," I said, eyes on the floor. I looked up just in time to see a huge pillow coming at me. It flopped in my face, and was pretty painful considering it was a pillow. Grateful that she didn't have anything heavier to throw, I walked over to her bed and handed the pillow back. Her face was wet and her eyes were red, but she wasn't the ugliest crier in the world.

I sat at her desk chair and received the daggers she was throwing with her eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked suspiciously. I silently wondered if Nobu had told her I was going to break up with her. Then I stopped and wondered if that's even what I wanted anymore. After seeing all of this, I knew for a fact that if I did I would never be able to fix it. So was not having a girlfriend to worry about worth losing Koizumi?

The long silence did nothing to appease her suspicion. "Go away," she said coldly, turning over and facing the wall. I looked at her for a moment, trying to find the words I wanted. They wouldn't come (and at such a time, too).

So I stood up and crossed the room. I could tell she thought I was leaving, because her shoulders jerked in a very painful sort of way. But I walked right up to her and draped my arm over her, kissed her cheek, and whispered in her ear.

"I'm really sorry, but I'm not leaving."

There was a silence as she absorbed what I'd just said. "Otani…" She muttered. She turned her head up, and our eyes met. "Stay with me tonight?" She asked. I nodded, and climbed onto the bed with her, wrapping my arms around her.


End file.
